Born August 7, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio, Roland Kirk grew up to become one of the most all-encompassing and unique virtuosos in jazz 

Born essentially blind (his eyes could distinguish light), he showed an early desire to try to make music from things such as the end of a water hose. His first real instrument, at age 9, was the trumpet, but his doctor felt that it put too much pressure on his eyes, so he switched to saxophone and clarinet. He was a natural musician and a fast learner who was playing professional gigs while still in high school. 

He dreamt at age 16 that he was playing three instruments at once. In a local music store, he soon found two rare oddities: a manzello which is a Spanish variant of the soprano sax with a bent, flaired bell and a stritch, which was essentially a straight alto sax with a large bell at the end. He worked out his own false fingerings to be able to play three-part harmony on the three saxophones. At age 23, he made his first album for King Records in Cincinnati. That label was the home of James Brown and other great R & B acts and Kirk’s album quickly became a rare collector’s item. He progressed quickly and became well known in Chicago where he made his second album for Argo in 1960 at the behest of Ramsey Lewis. He ventured to New York in 1961 making an album for Prestige Records with organist Jack McDuff. The war between the pro-Kirk and anti-Kirk factions in the musical and critical communities was taking shape. Genius or gimmick-laden huckster? History fell on the side of genius.

Artykuł Roland Kirk<br />The Limelight / Verve Albums<br /> Mosaic Records pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

„I don’t really do conventional…“ – Marianne Faithfull

Recorded in New Orleans with a core of exceptional local musicians, Horses and High Heels features eight cover versions and four original songs co-written by Marianne Faithfull, four songs which feature the virtuoso guitar playing of John Porter, a musician/producer friend most noted for his work with Roxy Music, Eric Clapton and The Smiths. The album also includes one song with lyrics specially written for her by Irish playwright Frank McGuiness (the evocative „The Old House“), two cameo appearances on guitar from another old friend, Lou Reed, plus further cameos from Dr. John and MC5’s Wayne Kramer. It’s all exquisitely produced by long-term collaborator Hal Willner, the soundscape alchemist behind the critically-lauded Easy Come, Easy Go (2009), her astonishing collection of covers and duets featuring more of the kind of people Marianne calls friends, from Keith Richards and Jarvis Cocker to Rufus Wainwright and Nick Cave.

There’s the brooding, spectral guitar-rock of Greg Dulli & Mark Lanegan’s ‚The Stations‘, the swooning, country-rock tinge of R.B. Morris‘ „That’s How Every Empire Falls“ and the bar-room blues and ’70s soul revue thrills of Jackie Lomax’s „No Reason“. „We chose some soul material this time which I was very unsure of at first,“ muses Marianne. „No Reason, Back In Baby’s Arms, Gee Baby, these songs are more vocally demanding and it was quite frightening. But I think we managed it.“ Elsewhere are glimmering ’70s soul classics, from the gorgeous, steel-guitar-layered „Love Song“ (originally written by ’70s song-writer Lesley Duncan and made famous by Elton John), the bewitching piano reverie of Carol King’s ‚Goin‘ Back‘ (definitively recorded in ’66 by Dusty Springfield) and her positively Shakespearian rendition of the Shangri-Las masterpiece, „Past Present and Future“.

Her four original new songs are a revelation: the folky and unfeasibly rousing „Why Did We Have To Part?“, an elegy to the end of a long relationship „I just couldn’t resist a break-up song – and the pain is over‘, to the rollicking, Hammond swirl of ‚Prussian Blue‘ (a paean to her life in Paris), the rhythmically compelling, Celtic-folk-tinged ‚Horses and High Heels‘ and the joyous ‚Eternity‘ featuring a sampled Arabian-jazz flourish from Brian Jones‘ recording in Morocco with the Master Musicians of Jajouka (1968’s „Brian Jones Presents: The Pipes of Pan at Jajouka“). „It’s all a very different style for me,“ notes Marianne, „much more rhythmic. And a very modern record, it’s not looking back to the past at all. All the songs are about now, you know?“

Marianne is, they say, the Godmother of Goth, both doomed romantic and ultimate bohemian survivor. A teenage pop star, rock star’s girlfriend and iconic beauty in the 1960s

Artykuł Marianne Faithfull<br /> Horses and High Heels pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł Sam Cooke<br />Mr. Soul pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł Original Broadway Cast<br />West Side Story pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł Johnny Frigo <br />Debut of A Legend pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

„The quality of Jazz Goes To College is first-rate… Not having an original on hand, all I can say is that, given the eclectic nature of these tracks, the sound here is quite good: balanced, warm and sweet, with a natural sense of clarity and air.“ – Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2016, 4/5 Music, 3.5/5 Sonics

Dave Brubeck, piano
Paul Desmond, alto saxophone
Bob Bates, double bass
Joe Dodge, drums

Artykuł The Dave Brubeck Quartet <br />Jazz Goes To College pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Bass Lover’s Delight: Double-Bass Interplay Between Art Davis and Reggie Workman Motivates Leader and Band

Group Includes McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and an Uncredited Eric Dolphy

Mastered From the Original Master Tapes: Each Pluck of the Upright Instruments Registers With Tremendous Body

John Coltrane’s final album for Atlantic bookends the exploratory motifs he explores on his Impulse! debut, Africa/Brass, recorded concurrently, with each involving knotty rhythmic shifts and Spanish-derived textures. Bonding with an amazing band that includes pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and an uncredited Eric Dolphy (due to contractual reasons), Coltrane welcomes improvisations and ranging outside conventional parameters, all the while retaining melodic beauty.

Yet the biggest attraction on the 1961 effort comes via the double-bass interplay between Art Davis and Reggie Workman, whose back-and-forth exchanges produce heat and cause the leader to up his own game.

Mastered from the original master tapes, this dead-quiet 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents each pluck of the acoustic basses with tremendous body and decay. Long overdue for audiophile treatment, Olé Coltrane is ready for its closeup, and how.

Personnel:
John Coltrane — soprano sax
Eric Dolphy — flute
Freddie Hubbard — trumpet
McCoy Tyner — piano
Reggie Workman — bass
Art Davis — bass
Elvin Jones — drums

Artykuł John Coltrane <br />Ole Coltrane pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Previously out of press for over 25 years, this historic recording has now been remastered and pressed on audiophile-grade 140g vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.

Musicians:
Billie Holiday, vocals
Stan Getz, tenor sax (4, 5, 6)
Buster Harding, piano
John Fields, bass
Marquis Foster, drums
Carl Drinkard, piano (6)
Jimmy Woode, bass (6)
Peter Littman, drums (6)

Artykuł Billie Holiday <br />At Storyville pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Artykuł Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars <br />Jazz Is Back in Grand Rapids pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.

Odyssey stands as James Blood Ulmer’s signature masterpiece, the purest and most
accessible showcase for his bold, genre-clashing guitar vision. With minimal
trio accompaniment – only drummer Warren Benbow and violinist Charles Burnham –
Ulmer’s guitar is always the meat of the ensemble, especially since his unique
tuning (developed for this album) allows him to cover bass parts as well as
guitar leads. AllMusic’s Steve Huey calls it “not only Ulmer’s finest album,
but a certified classic of the modern jazz avant-garde.” Now Odyssey finally
gets the audiophile treatment it deserves, in the form of a double LP, mastered
at 45RPM from original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman, pressed on 180gram
vinyl, and housed in Stoughton case-wrapped jacket.

Musicians:
James „Blood“ Ulmer, guitar
Warren Benbow, drums
Charles Burnham, violin

Artykuł James Blood Ulmer <br />Odysey pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.